Electrical contact member



June J. v. DOMALESKI 2,120,396

ELECTRI CAL CONTACT MEMBER Filed June 4, 1936 2 Sheets-$heet 1 FIG.

' INVENTOR I By JIKDOMALES/(I ommm A T TORNE Y June 14, 1938.

ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBER Filed June 4', 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORB J. MDOMALESK/ WmJdueL I Arm/awn J. v. DOMALESKI 2,120,396

Patented June 14, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT VOFFIQE ELECTRICAL con'rac'rs amina Joseph v. Domaleski, Irvington, N. J., asslgnor to BellTelephone Laboratories, Incorporated, New- York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application June 4, 1936, Serial no. 83,513

12 Claims.

This invention relates to electrical contact members and moreparticularly to contact clips for establishing electrical connectionswith electrical apparatus, such as electron discharge de- A furtherobject of this invention is to assure positive and secure associationbetween a terminal on electrical apparatus and a contact 15 membertherefor.

In one ilustrative embodiment of this invention, a contact membercomprises a pair of juxtaposed metallic strips or arms each of which isdivided longitudinally into a plurality of resilient fingers. The armsmay be formed in one piece or of separate pieces of strip material.

In accordance with one feature of this invention one or more of theresilient fingers is twisted about its longitudinal axis so thatcorresponding fingers on the juxtaposed arms are disposed at an angle,for example, 90 degrees, to one another and thereby form v-shapedchannels for guiding a terminal member inserted between the arms.-Corresponding fingers may have contacting edges 30 at the apex of theangle formed thereby so that a wiping engagement between the terminalmember and the fingers obtains when the terminal member is associatedwith' the contact member and an efiicient and positive electricalconnection 35 results.

In order to assure accurate positioning and secure holding of theterminal member, one or more pairs of the corresponding fingers on thetwo arms may be provided with juxtaposed slots 40 or recesses foraccommodating the terminal member.

In one application a plurality of contact members may be mountededgewise upon a suitable insulating base or support and positioned tore- 45 ceive terminal members or prongs extending from an electricalapparatus such, for example, as an electron discharge device.

The invention and the features thereof will be understood more clearlyand fully from the fol- 50 lowing detailed description-with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which;

Fig. lis a perspective view .of a one-piece contact clip illustrative ofone embodiment of this.

' invention;

55 Fig. 2 is a top view of the contact clip shown (Cl. 173 -332) Y inFig. 1 illustrating clearly the relative position oi the fingers and thejuxtaposed slots or recesses therein;

Fig. 3 is a front end view of the contact, clip illustrated in Fig. 1showing the angular relation of corresponding fingers;

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective and plan views, respectively, of amounting for electron discharge devices, including contact membersconstructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another contact member constructed inaccordance with this invention wherein the cooperating arms may beseparately fabricated;

Figs. '7 and 8 are top and side views, respectively, of another contactmember illustrative of this invention, which is particularly suitablefor installations wherein insertion of a terminal member in either oftwo directions is desired, and

Figs. 9 and 10 are top' and side views, respectively, of a modificationof the contact member illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8.

Referring now' to the drawings the contact clip shown in Figs. 1, 2 and3 comprisesa single piece of suitable metal, for example, a berylliumcopper alloy, which may be cadmium plated, having parallel juxtaposedarms and an intermediate bowed portion IS. The intermediate portion l6may be provided with an aperture II for receiving a suitable mountingscrew ,or the like. Each of the 3 arms is divided by longitudinal slitsto provide a plurality of pairs of corresponding resilient fingers l8.

As shown clearly in Fig. 3, each of the fingers I8 is twisted about alongitudinal axis, for example, through an angle of substantiallydegrees, so that corresponding fingers on the two arms form a V orwedge-shaped channel for guiding a terminal member, such' as a terminalprong or pin 40, upon its insertion between the 40 arms of the contactclip. The juxtaposed edges IQ of corresponding fingers may be shaped asshown in Fig. 3, to provide a linear contact surposition and the slotsorrecesses' in the-several fingers of eacharm being in alignment.

, When a terminal member, such as a prong or pin 40, is inserted betweenthe arms oi the contact clip. it will be apparent that it will be guidedbetween successive corresponding fingers by virtue of the V orwedge-shaped channels formed by the fingers and that wiping engagementbetween the fingers and the terminal will obtain. As a result of suchengagement, foreign matter that may be present upon. the terminal willbe removed and a low resistance contact between the terminal and contactclip will be established. Furthermore, because of the resiliency anddisposition of the fingers and the slots or recesses 20, the terminalmember will be securely held in proper position in the contact clip.

The contact clips may be utilized advanta geously in a mounting iorelectron discharge devices. In one illustrative mounting shown in Figs.4 and 5, several contact clips of the design shown in Figs. 1 to 3 aresecured to rigid uprights 2| by nuts and bolts 22, the uprights in turnbeing secured to a base 23, for example, of a ceramic material, byscrews 24 and positioned in peripheral grooves or recesses in the base.The several contact clips are spaced, of course, in the same relation asthe terminal prongs upon the electron discharge device, each of theclips being adapted to receive one of the terminal prongs in therecesses or slots 20. The base 23 may beprovided with hubs l5 andapertures 46 to allow attachment thereof to a suitable mounting.

In another illustrative embodiment of this invention shown in Fig. 6, acontact clip may be formed of two separate metallic strips. Each of thestrips includes an apertured mounting portion 25 and an arm 26 composedof a plurality oi.

twisted fingers. The two strips may be secured to a suitable support 21by a screw 28, with corresponding fingers of the arms 26 contacting andforming V or wedge-shaped guiding channels for a terminal wire or thelike.

In some installations, it is desirable that a contact clip allowinsertion 0! a terminal wire or prong in different directions. Aterminal particularly suitable for such installations is shown in Figs.7 and 8 and comprises a metallic mounting member or block 29 to which a.pair of metallic contact strips are secured, as by an escutcheon pin 30.Each of the contact strips includes a mounting portion 3| apertured toallow passage of the pin 30 therethrough and an arm portion 32terminating in an outwardly curved guide lip 33, the lips on the twostrips extending in opposite directions. Each arm portion 32 is dividedinto a plurality of. resilient fingers by suitable slots. If desired,these fingers may be twisted similarly to the fingers in the contactclips shown in Figs. 1 and 6 tov obtain edgewise contact therebetweenand a terminal member to be grasped by the contact clip.

As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the fingers on the arm portions 32 may be incontact throughout a portion of their length and the mounting memher orblock may be provided with a tap 34 into which a lead conductor may bethreaded.

Although several specific embodiments of. the invention have been shownand described, it will be understood, or course, that variousmodifications may be made therein without departing from the scope andspirit of this invention .as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A contact member comprising a pair of elongated, linear juxtaposedfingers having substantially parallel longitudinal axes, one of saidfingers having a terminal engaging portion twisted about thelongitudinal axis thereof and defining with the other of said fingers anelongated channel extending longitudinally of said fingers.

2. An electrical contact member comprising a pair of juxtaposedmetallic.arms each divided into a plurality of resilient fingers, thefingers on one of said arms being twisted toward the other arm anddisposed substantially parallel to one another.

3. An electrical contactmember comprising a pair of juxtaposed metallicarms, one of said arms having a plurality of superposed, substantiallyparallel resilient fingers each disposed obliquely toward the other arm.

4. An electrical contact member comprising a pair of juxtaposed, plane,elongated resilient fingers having contacting longitudinal edges anddefining a substantially \I-shaped channel.

5. An electrical contact member comprising a pair of elongated, linear,resilient metallic fingers having contacting longitudinal edges anddisposed at an angle to each other.

6. An electrical contact member comprising a pair of arms, said armsincluding juxtaposed resilient fingers and portions intermediate theends of said fingers and at a longitudinal edge thereof for guiding -aterminal therebetween.

7. An electrical contact member comprising a pair of juxtaposed armsdivided into an equal number of superposed fingers, correspondingfingers on said arms being disposed at an angle to each other and havinglongitudinal contacting edges.

8. An electrical contact clip comprising a pair of metallic arms havinga plurality of juxtaposed corresponding fingers extending longitudinallyof. said arms, each pair of corresponding fingers having contactinglongitudinal edges and disposed at substantially right angles to eachother, and the fingers of each arm being in superposed relation.

9. An electrical contact clip comprising a metallic strip having a pairof adjacent arms and a mounting portion connecting said arms, one ofsaid arms including a plurality of fingers extending longitudinally ofsaid one arm and disposed laterally oblique to and longitudinallyparallel with the other arm.

10. An electrical contact clip comprising ametallic strip having a pairof adjacent arms divided into a plurality of parallel resilient fingers,and a bowed portion connecting said arms, the fingers on each of saidarms extending at substantially right angles to the base of said bowedportion and beingdisposed at an oblique angle to the other arm.

11. An electrical contact clip in accordance with claim 10 whereincorresponding fingers on said arms have contacting longitudinal edges.

12. An electrical contact clip comprising a pair of. adjacentarmsdivided into resilient fingers,

corresponding fingers of said arms being disposed at an angle to eachother and having centering slots in juxtaposed longitudinal edgesthereof.'

JOSEPH V. DOMALESKI.

